Saudi woman drives F1 car to mark end of ban
RIYADH (AFP) – Saudi women celebrated taking the wheel for the first time in decades Sunday as the kingdom overturned the world's only ban on female motorists, a historic reform expected to usher in a new era of social mobility.
The much-trumpeted move is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's plan to modernize the conservative petrostate — but it has been dented by the jailing of female activists who long opposed the driving ban.
Renault stole a march on their Formula One rivals on Sunday when they gave a Saudi Arabian woman a chance to mark a special day by driving one of their cars ahead of Sunday's French Grand Prix.
On the same day that women celebrated
being allowed to drive on the roads of Saudi Arabia, Aseel Al-Hamad, the first female member of her national motorsport federation, took the wheel of the same car in which Kimi Raikkonen won the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
She was part of a Renault 'passion parade' hours ahead of the first French Grand Prix in a decade and the first to be held at the Le Castellet circuit for 28 years.
Aseel, who is a member of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, is a keen driver and motor sport enthusiast who took part in a training day on June 5 at the circuit.
"I have loved racing and motorsport from a very young age and to drive a Formula One car goes even beyond my dreams and what I thought was possible.
"It is a genuine honor to drive in front of the crowds at the team's home race in France.
"I hope doing so on the day when women can drive on the roads in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia shows what you can do if you have the passion and the spirit to dream."
Aseel is responsible for the creation of strategies to promote the education and training of women in motorsport in Saudi Arabia.
Celebrations, tears Women in Riyadh and other cities began zipping around streets bathed in amber light soon after the ban was lifted at midnight, with some blasting music from behind the wheel.
"I feel free like a bird," said talk show host and writer Samar Almogren as she cruised across the capital.
Television presenter Sabika alDosari called it "a historic moment for every Saudi woman" before driving a sedan across the border to the kingdom of Bahrain.
The lifting of the ban, long a glaring symbol of repression, is expected to be transformative for many women, freeing them from dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives.
"This is a great achievement," billionaire Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal said as his daughter Reem drove a family SUV, with his granddaughters applauding from the back seat.
"Now women have their freedom," he added in a video posted on Twitter.
Euphoria mixed with disbelief as women posted online videos of driving themselves to work, their children to school and their friends for ice cream, all mundane experiences elsewhere in the world but a dazzling novelty in the desert kingdom.
"The jubilance, confidence, and pride expressed by Saudi women driving for the first time in their country, without fear of arrest, brought tears to my eyes," tweeted activist Hala al-Dosari, while lauding the jailed campaigners.
"I'm happy and relieved that... girls in Saudi will live a bit freer than their mothers."
‘Be gentle to women’ Authorities appeared to project that the reform had religious sanction, with the kingdom's top clerical council on Sunday reiterating that the lifting of the ban was in line with Islamic values.
The reform was catalyzed in large measure by what experts characterize as economic pain in the kingdom owing to a protracted oil slump.
It is expected to boost women's employment and, according to a Bloomberg estimate, add $90 billion to economic output by 2030.
For now, the women taking to the roads appear mainly to be those who have swapped foreign licenses for Saudi ones after undergoing a practical test.
Some 120,000 women have applied for licenses, an interior ministry spokesman said, declining to specify how many had been issued.
Some three million women could receive licenses and actively begin driving by 2020, according to consultancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
A handful of female driving schools have cropped up in several cities, training women to drive cars as well as Harley-Davidson motorbikes — scenes unimaginable even a year ago.
The government has preemptively addressed concerns of abuse by outlawing sexual harassment, and authorities have sternly warned against stalking women drivers.
"To all men I say, be gentle towards women" drivers, popular Saudi singer Mohammed Abdu said in an online video.